UK: Firm wheat and barley imports to date

Published Mar 19, 2024

Tridge summary

The latest UK trade data reveals a significant increase in grain imports due to the poor quality of domestic cereals this season. The majority of these imports are higher quality grains for milling and malting. Wheat exports have decreased by 78% and imports have increased by 55% compared to last year. Barley exports have also decreased by 27%, while imports have more than doubled from last season. Oat exports have decreased by 28% but are up 46% on the previous five-year average. Maize imports have seen an increase of 11% on the year.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

Sign up to receive the Weekly Market Report and Grain Market Daily from AHDB. The latest UK trade data includes information on the export and import of grain up until the end of January. Perhaps unsurprisingly, due to the poor quality of this season’s domestic cereals, imports this season (2023/24) to date remain firm. The majority of imports are thought to be made up of higher quality grains for milling and malting. On the other hand, largely due to our relative price, UK exports of wheat and barley are minimal. So far this season (Jul-Jan), UK wheat exports (incl. durum wheat) have totalled 165.7 Kt, down 78% on the year, and down 64% on the previous five-year average. As well as not pricing competitively on the global market and reduced demand for European wheat, a tighter year on year wheat balance also contributes to the downturn in exports. According to our January UK supply and demand estimates, reduced availability this season, combined with a slight uptick in domestic ...

Source: Ahdb